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Ingvar Kamprad, the billionaire founder of Ikea, is to take another step back from the helm of the flat-pack furniture company by handing the youngest of his three sons a key board role.

Mr Kamprad, 87, who launched Ikea in southern Sweden in 1948, stepped down in 1986 as chief executive of the world’s biggest furniture group, which in January announced record annual profits of €3.2 billion (£2.7 billion).

He retained control from various board positions but his views seem to have mellowed slightly since he declared on his 85th birthday that none of his sons were “capable of running